Canna Provisions, Gyasi Sellers, Wiseacre Farm, Verano Holdings v. Merrick Garland is a lawsuit brought in late 2023 by cannabis industry entities against the U.S. Attorney General, arguing that the scheduling of cannabis under the Controlled Substances Act is unconstitutional.
[1][2][3] Boies Schiller Flexner LLP is one of the law firms representing the plaintiffs.
[4] Department of Justice moved to have the case dismissed,[5] then later argued that the federal government had an interest in curtailing cannabis tourism between states.
[6] In July 2024, United States District Judge Mark G. Mastroianni dismissed the case; however, the plaintiffs subsequently filed an appeal with the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit.
[8] The legal theory of the case is that although in Gonzales v. Raich, the Supreme Court "reasoned that because Congress intended to 'eradicate' cannabis from interstate commerce, the federal government had a rational and thus lawful purpose in encroaching on states' cannabis regulation", this Commerce Clause-centric logic no longer pertains in the 2020s, as the Federal Government "continues to largely take a hands-off approach with regard to state-legal cannabis" under the Cole Memorandum and its successors, appropriations riders,[a] and other institutional practices, including blanket Presidential pardons issued under the Biden Administration for prior cannabis-related offenses.